Discarded Card
by AlfieTimewolf
Summary: This isn't orignally my story. The first two Chapter's belong to Fallon the Coyote, who gave me the Story. Plot: Alice accepted Jack's propsal and never returned through the looking glass, becoming the new queen of hearts, leaving Hatter alone. Hatter/OC
1. Pink and Purple Hoodie

**Author's Note** I haven't really done something like this before, but here it goes. This isn't my story, Originally. Fallon the Coyote Pirate gave me this story to continue, and I was honoured that she asked me, of all people. She sent me the file. I haven't changed this chapter, and I won't change the other chapter she's sending me.

**Disclaimer**I own nothing. SyFy owns Alice, Hatter, Ratty, Jack or any other characters. I also Don't own Jay or the pink and purple Hoodie wearer, they still belong to Fallon the Coyote Pirate.

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><p><strong>SyFy's Alice, 2009<strong>

**Chapter One **- **Pink and Purple Hoodie**

Hatter sat peacefully within the safety of his Tea Shop, sipping a freshly brewed cup of Earl Grey Tea. His hat lay on his lap, allowing his messy dark brown hair to stick up at all angles. His eyes were bloodshot, and there were the makings of dark circles beneath his eyelids.

It had been only a few months, give or take six or seven, since the Red Queen was dethroned - and when Jack had asked Alice (_the _Alice, the one he had risked his life to help) to marry him, she had said yes and became the new queen. All the Oysters were returned home, and whatever emotions they still had bottled were washed away down sinks and toilets… and at one point he had seen a kid empty a whole bottle of Happiness into a river, the Fish had certainly started flying higher than usual that day.

But, no matter how many things changed and improved in Wonderland, Hatter knew he wouldn't feel any different. And now he blamed himself, he had gotten so many opportunities to tell Alice how he felt about her, yet not a word past his lips. Before he knew it, his chance had slipped through his fingers like water through a sieve. That chance would never come around again, no matter how much he wanted it to. Alice was - as far as he knew - happily married to Jack Hearts and was now Queen of Wonderland, she was making sure that the Rebellion could come out from hiding (at last) and relax. The House of Cards Casino was now used for Pleasure and no longer for emotion draining, the lab underneath had been gutted out completely.

As Hatter brooded over his thoughts of 'What if's' and 'What could have been', he hadn't noticed his friend Ratty walk into his Tea Shop and call his name.

"Hatter," Ratty called again, stepping further into the shop, he stood at the very edge of the grass surrounding Hatter's desk. He knew how Hatter didn't like him standing on the green plant, and so didn't tread on it. "Hatter!"

"Hmm?" Hatter had lost his train of thought once he'd heard his name being called, but looked up and into the face of the scruffy good-hearted scrounger Ratty. "What?"

"You've been a bit anti-social over the past months, if you know what I mean?" Ratty tried to say nicely.

"You didn't come all the way here to ask if I was alright, did you? What do you want?" Hatter asked, he wasn't nasty to the older man as a pain pricked at his heart as Ratty hinted at the thing bothering him. He yawned widely and set his half full cup of tea onto his spotless white desk.

"Well, not really. I came to ask you if you could give me back that book… Alice gave me that you borrowed." Ratty said timidly, he had hesitated to say the Queen's name, as he knew how it affected the Hatter.

"What book?" Hatter questioned, he couldn't remember borrowing a book from Ratty - so didn't remember where he had placed it.

"It was called 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets', or something like that," Ratty tried to get his friend to remember, but with obvious little success. "I had only read the first few chapters, and I wanted to finish it. All that wizard magic and creatures and all."

"I'm sorry, Ratty. I don't know where it is, if it's even in here still." Hatter apologised, taking a sip of his tea and placing it back down on his desk.

"If you're really sorry, you'll get me a new one?" Ratty asked hopefully, smiling widely.

"Where would I get a book like that from? They're from the other side of the Looking Glass." Hatter stood up and stretched out his arms, his hat held securely between the fingers of his hand.

"Well, it just so happens that while I down in the Lowers looking for Honchkrow feathers - you know, cause you can get a fortune from them - that I found this little shop. The owner sells books from here AND from the human world, she might have something like it," Ratty told Hatter hopefully, his eyes glinting with happiness at the thought of getting something new(ish). "It shouldn't cost you much, and you owe me for losing my book."

Hatter raised his hand in surrender as he placed his hat on top of his head, he lifted his jacket off of the back of his chair and slipped it on over his scuffed white shirt. He gulped the last of his now cold tea and followed Ratty out of his beloved Tea Shop - making sure to close the door behind him. He jogged lightly to catch up with Ratty, who had scurried ahead and was standing at the far end of the broken path at the crumbling edge, beside where he was standing was a grey bridge; thick cracks were scattered all over it, chunks missing from the sides.

"Why not cross the Bridge?" Hatter rubbed the bridge of his nose as he stopped beside the scruffy man and looked over the edge.

"We need to go down, not over." Ratty grinned, he would have rolled his eyes, but that wasn't something he did.

Ratty kneeled down near the edge and stretched a hand down, he pushed in a button that would normally go unnoticed unless you were looking for it. He stood up straight and fixed his weather-roughened jacket, as if waiting for something.

"And we are…?" Hatter raised an eyebrow in question.

"You've been down to the Lower before." Ratty replied.

"Yeah, I took the doors."

"This way is quicker."

Hatter looked down as he heard something click, a wide black platform was level with the edge. Ratty stepped onto it with confidence, to which Hatter quickly followed.

"Brace yourself." Ratty told his friend as he stepped onto a black button on the platform that Hatter hadn't noticed before.

The platform began to descend down towards the Lowers of Wonderland slowly at first, but then started to go faster, and faster, until everything that was around them was just blurs of black and white. Thankfully for Hatter, the platform didn't just suddenly stop, it slowed down gradually. He knew they were at their destination when the platform clicked onto the edge of a level.

"Come on, it's this way." Ratty pointed and scurried ahead again, forcing Hatter to jog after him, though it didn't take long to catch up. They past several shops as they walked on, some were empty, others were barely staying open.

Ratty dragged Hatter through the door of a small-looking bookstore, but when inside it stretched down quite a bit. Piles upon piles of books were stacked from floor to roof. The spines of the books were in all the colours you could possibly imagine, from blues to red, to yellows and greens. There were thick books, thin books, old books, (relatively) new books. If you could think of a book, it was probably in one of the hundreds of piles lining the the very back of the shop was a dark wooden desk, and sitting behind the desk was a young woman - only in her early twenties or so. Her hair was short, incredibly messy and the colour of winter, with streaks of tomato red and azure blue, the ends of her hair were tipped golden poppy yellow. Her fringe was short and brushed to the right of her forehead, and the most dominant colour was the Electric green that almost drowned out the thin white stripes. From what Hatter could see, she was wearing a white tank top with a red 'J' on the front of it, he couldn't see what else she was wearing because of the desk, which was also covered in books.

The Young woman had a stack of books balanced on one arm as she lifted the top one off and slid it into a spare space in the shelf, she appeared to be trying to organise them.

"Jay!" A voice screamed, coming from outside the shop. It was male, and close. "Jay!"

Hatter stepped away from the entrance to the door just as a guy ran through it, or at least Hatter thought he was a guy. He was wearing a pink and purple striped Hoodie with the hood up, there were pink ears with purple on the inside of them sown onto the top of the hood.

The young Woman, Jay's, head snapped up and for a split second, she and Hatter made eye contact. Her eyes were blue, but a soft steel blue rather than the dark blue in her hair, almost like grey with a light blue tint. His eyes were the colour of mud, brown, but with the very tiniest flecks of yellow in them as well.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as the guy wearing the Hoodie leaped over the desk, but everything sped up again and the guy tackled Jay. Sending the books on the desk everywhere, and the books Jay had been holding into the air. The books that had been in her arms landed behind the desk on the two, pages flew everywhere, haven fallen out of the books.

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><p><strong>If you don't like that I now own this story, please go and talk to <span>Fallon the Coyote Pirate<span> about it. Don't send me hate PM's or complain to me.**

**Feel free to review though.**


	2. Tricky Middle Bookstore

**Author's Note** I haven't really done something like this before, but here it goes. This isn't my story, Originally. Fallon the Coyote Pirate gave me this story to continue, and I was honoured that she asked me, of all people. She sent me the file. I haven't changed this chapter.

**Disclaimer**I own nothing. SyFy owns Alice, Hatter, Ratty, Jack and any other characters. I also Don't own Joker or Cheshire Cat, they still belong to Fallon the Coyote Pirate.

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><p><strong>SyFy's Alice, 2009<strong>

**Chapter Two **- **Tricky Middle Bookstore**

Hatter and Ratty watched as the multicoloured-haired young woman disappeared from their view due to a Pink and Purple striped, Hoodie wearing guy.

A few mere seconds later, a scruffy black haired guy walked into the shop, his clothes consisted of a black shirt, black jeans, black trainers, and a black jacket. He had a silver Choker chain around his neck, and chains hanging from loops on his jeans. The guy also had a scruffy black tail, but it wasn't real and must have been attached to a belt or the back of his jeans.

"Where is he?" The guy growled at Hatter and Ratty, like a dog on the hunt that had lost the scent trail.

"Who?" Hatter asked.

"That damn Cat! He's wearing a Hoodie!" The guy growled again, looking all around the shop. "Where is he?"

It was at this moment that the young woman, Jay, stood up and dusted off her tank top. She ran a hand through her rainbow of hair and fixed her fringe before grinning towards the guy in black.

"Hey, welcome to the Tricky Middle bookstore," Jay grinned as she spoke to the guy. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"I'm looking for that Pink Cat, Where is he?" The guy snarled angrily, getting impatient.

"Sorry, but this is a Bookstore, I don't sell rainbow coloured animals," Jay smiled as the Guy wearing the Hoodie was crouched at her feet with his arms wrapped around her thighs, his face was buried in the small of her back. "I seen him run past though, try down the ally a bit ahead there. He might have gone that way."

"Thanks." The guy swirled round and charged out of the store, sprinting down the path and taking a right down an ally, looking for a cat wearing a Hoodie.

Meanwhile in the store, Hatter and Ratty looked back at Jay and made their way towards the desk. The guy wearing the Pink and Purple striped Hoodie with the cat ears popped up from behind her and hugged her tightly.

"Than you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The Hoodie guy starting hopping a little with glee and jerked his head up quickly to make his Hoodie fall down, still hugging Jay tightly. The hood fell down and revealed short hot pink hair, his eyes were a hypnotising electric green, with a slight hint of yellow in them. Around his neck was a red collar, it was thick and very loose on him.

"Who was that? Are you pissing off everyone this week?" Jay asked the Hoodie wearer. She turned round and stared at him before reaching up and straightened out his hood. "You've gotta be more careful Cheshire, otherwise your nine lives will be gone before you know it."

Cheshire grinned widely, the trademark smile he was known for in Wonderland. He grabbed Jay and hugged her tightly again, nuzzling his face into the soft white hair behind her ear.

"His name's Todo. Idiot thinks I stole a pair of his girl's, um… what was he screamin' at me… oh yeah, Ruby slippers." Cheshire explained, knowing that Jay would believe him because it was the truth.

Jay sighed and rolled her eyes at her closest friend as he explained what had happened into her ear, of all the things Cheshire was - afraid of closeness or physical touch he was not. She pulled away from Cheshire and looked up into his green eyes, "You get to pick up the lost pages, since you tackled me."

Cheshire nodded his head, the small hoop on the red collar - which was meant to be for an animal - around his neck clinked with another bit of metal, he walked past Jay and round the desk as he began to pick up the scattered pieces of paper. It was then that Jay was reminded about the two possible customers.

"Hi, I'm Joker. Welcome to the Tricky Middle bookstore, what can I help yous with?" She greeted cheerily as the Hoodie wearer, Cheshire was on his hands and knees picking up the pieces of paper.

Ratty was about to speak, but Hatter beat him to it, "We're looking for…" Hatter had forgotten what the book was called and so glanced at Ratty.

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Ratty reminded his friend.

"We're looking for a Harry Potter book, do you have any?" Hatter smiled, trying to be as Charming as possible.

"Hmm," Jay, or now Joker, hummed in thought as she looked around at the books behind her. "Ah-ha!," She smiled as she walked out from behind the desk, she was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans. On her feet were green and Purple Converse shoes, 'ha ha ha' was written all over the tongues of them. There were two pairs of laces on each foot; green and purple on the right, green and black on the left. She began walking towards Hatter and Ratty, stepping over Cheshire as she walked past the pair and to the shelf at the back. She scanned up and down the bookcase before spotting what she was looking for. "Ches, come 'ere and give me a lift."

Cheshire stood and trotted obediently over to Joker, setting the pages he picked up onto a stack of books as he kneeled down beside her and she climbed onto his shoulders. He stood up easily and grabbed her ankles so that she wouldn't fall backwards.

"Let's see… Philosopher's Stone, Deathly Hallows, Half-blood Prince… ah, here we are, Chamber of Secrets," Joker reached up and held the books against the wall as she slid the sought out book out from underneath them, holding it up in her hand as she let the other books she was holding fall neatly against the books still on the pile. Cheshire kneeled down again and Joker slid off his shoulders and walked towards Hatter and Ratty. "Is this what you're looking for?"

"That's perfect, same front and everything." Ratty grinned widely.

"Great, do you want it now? Or would you like it delivered later?" Joker asked as she looked at the two.

"I don't want anything happening to it, can you deliver it?" Ratty asked, as he looked towards Hatter - who hadn't taken his eyes off of Joker since he had spotted her.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have brought it up," Joker smiled as she flitted to the desk at the back and grabbed a black notebook and pen before returning to the two. "Where will I be going?"

"The top layer of Wonderland…" Ratty informed her, but she just scribbled it down in her book.

"You can drop it off in my Tea shop," Hatter offered, grabbing his chance to see her again. "It's the only Tea shop around here."

"And your names are?" Joker wrote down 'Tea shop' beneath what she had already written.

"Hatter," He smiled charmingly at her, and he could have sworn that he heard the Hoodie wearer, Cheshire or whatever his name was, growl quietly towards him. "This is Ratty.""Hatter… Ratty…" She said their names while she wrote them down before snapping the book shut and looking up with a grin at the two, sticking the pen behind her ear. "Right, I'll be able to bring it up tomorrow then."

"Any time is fine," Hatter assured the multicoloured-haired young woman as she led them towards the front door, he tilted his hat in farewell as she smiled and closed the door. He turned to Ratty and grinned. "There's your book."

"You haven't smiled for months, I was beginning to think that you'd never grin again." Ratty told the smiling Hatter as he lead him back to the black elevator-type platform that would take them back up to the top layer of Wonderland.

Meanwhile back at the little bookstore, Joker was running a hand through her short hair as she walked back over to her now clear desk and set the notebook down on top of it. She leaned over the counter to see the extent of the mess Cheshire had created. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Cheshire walked up to her side and peered over to see what he had done.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make such a mess for you," Cheshire grinned his trademark smile. Without warning, his stomach rumbled loudly and almost echoed throughout the store. "… guess all that running made me hungry."

"Don't make a mess in the kitchen, and I got fresh milk yesterday," Joker told the delighted Hoodie wearing guy. "Don't be such a cat, leave some for me this time. I can't drink coffee straight up black… yet."

"Gotcha." Cheshire Cat grinned as he padded off through a door near the back that lead to the Kitchen.

Joker kneeled down and began picking up the toppled over books, she stacked them into piles back on her desk and picked up any loose pages from the floor and set them in a small neat pile of their own. She leaned against the desk and ran both her hands through her hair. Reaching down, she opened the top drawer of the desk and lifted out a deck of cards. Unlike most decks of cards, she had decided to leave the twin Joker's in the deck. Something she had never had a choice in on her own while she lived with her mother.

Ivy Willow Crystalfrost, a Worker in the House of Cards Casino, was Joker's Mother. Or had been. Her mother had been a very loyal subject to the Queen, waiting on her hand and foot 24/7. When Ivy had discovered she was pregnant, she had been horrified. She had never wanted a child, it would only get in the way of her duties to the Queen of Hearts. When her daughter had been born, she couldn't give her away. She would have been ridiculed as heartless and untrustworthy, two things she didn't want to be known as being. So she kept the girl until she was sixteen years of age, which was when the Queen had ordered her to be exiled from House of Cards casino for making to much trouble. Joker would never forget that day, the day her mother stood and watched her be removed. But just to add insult to injury, the Queen had a red 'J' tattooed behind her ear and on her wrist. The ink had stung and the needles burned like fire shooting in and out of her skin to fast to see. She had never ran that fast before in her life, she'd just wanting to get away from the horrid place. Ever since that day, Joker had been her name. And just like the card in the deck, nobody had wanted her.

On her way out of the House, a Suit had caught her and branded her with a scolding hot piece of metal that left a mark in the shape of a 'J' on her ankle. She had been terrified, and lonely, and friendless. That is, until she stumbled upon the most peculiar boy she had ever met.

'What a day.' Joker smiled to herself as she watched Cheshire walk out from the kitchen and lean on the desk beside her, he took a spoonful of whatever he had chosen to eat and chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. The deck of cards in her hands was being shuffled continuously.

Joker had stumbled into a clearing, where in the middle was a boy around her age with pink hair. He was wearing a thin purple and pink striped Hoodie with ears stitched onto the hood. He was kicking up leaves angrily and stomping around. A movement to her right had caught her eye and she had looked there, but whatever it had been was gone. And when she looked back into the clearing, the boy was gone.

"Hello." A voice came from behind, making her jump and swirl around, only to see the pink haired boy. He wasn't much taller than herself, but his green eyes glowed in the shade of the trees.

"Hi." She had greeted back.

"I'm Cheshire, nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand for her took shake.

"I'm Joker." She had replied, slipping her hand into his and shaking it. The palm of his hand had been dry, but soft.

And from that day on, they had been the best of friends. They had found an abandoned shop and decided to keep it, they repaired it and restored the inside. Cheshire hadn't wanted a shop, he had only wanted to help out Joker. She chose what type of store it was, and the name as well.

"What are you smiling about?" Cheshire asked her as he took another spoonful of what he was eating, making her lose her train of thought.

"I just remembered the day we met, up top in the forest." Joker replied.

"That was some day," Cheshire grinned and glanced down at the deck of cards in Joker's hands. "Okay, what card am I thinking of?

"You're too easy," She grinned and reached into the pocket of his Hoodie and lifted out a card - that hadn't been there before. A Joker. "Is this your card."

"Nope." He grinned, thinking he had won.

Joker flipped the card and around and showed him the other side, 3 of Diamonds, "Is this your card?"

"How did you do that?" Cheshire asked, he had seen the trick hundreds of times, and still never got bored when she turned the card around and got the correct answer.

"I already told you, a Joker never reveals her secrets," She grinned and laughed at his defeated pout. She put the deck of cards down and went to lock the front door, but looked back at the cheeky pink-haired cat just as she was about to put the lock on. "In or out, Ches?"

"In, it's cold out tonight." He replied, appearing in front of her and locking the door himself, he took her hands and waltzed her to the desk.

"Ever the charmer," Joker rolled her eyes in a joking sarcastic way, flicking off the lights in the store before walking through the door that lead to the kitchen. Straight through the small kitchen and up a flight of stairs, Cheshire right behind her. "Good night Ches."

"Night, Jay." He grinned, and pecked her on the cheek before she slipped into her room - the Joker card carved into the wood of her bedroom door. He stepped across into his own room and closed the door - a carving of a wide toothy grin in his own door.

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><p><strong>If you don't like that I now own this story, please go and talk to <span>Fallon the Coyote Pirate<span> about it. Don't send me hate PM's or complain to me.**

**Feel free to review though.**


	3. The Cat and the Hat

**Disclaimer** This isn't my story, Originally. Fallon the Coyote Pirate gave me this story to continue, and I was honoured that she asked me.

**Author's Note** Special thanks to Ria Con, windwolf1988 and dragonrain618 for reviewing.

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><p><strong>SyFy's Alice, 2009<strong>

**Chapter Three - The Cat and the Hat**

The next day in Wonderland was uneventful. It rained a little during the early hours of the morning, but so far the weather had been dry and sunny.

Hatter had spent a peaceful morning drinking green tea, and if he was honest, was looking forward to seeing Joker again. But Hatter noticed that the other guy, Cheshire, seemed to have a problem with him.

It was just about lunchtime by the time Hatter heard a knock - three knocks actually - at his door, he opened it to see a smiling Joker holding a brown paper bag and a rather jumpy looking Cheshire fidgeting with his fingers.

"Hey, I've got that book you wanted." Joker told him, lifting the bag up a little to show him.

"Please, come in," Hatter stepped out of the way to allow the two to come in. Joker walked in first and Cheshire stayed closely behind her, he noticed they stepped around the grassy area surrounding his desk. "What's wrong with him?" - he indicated towards the nervous Hoodie wearer.

"Don't mind Ches, we don't come up to the top of Wonderland very often, he gets a little bit nervous. So do I though." Joker explained and Hatter noticed she was shivering, although the room wasn't cold. Cheshire was gripping tightly to the back of Joker's black jacket, it was a little too big for her and reached her knees. He didn't like coming up top at all, but then he spotted Hatter's hat sitting on a table to his right.

"Hmm." Cheshire hummed quietly in thought, but it sounded more like a purring noise.

"You don't come up top? Why?" Hatter asked without thinking.

"Bad experience when I was a kid. You know? That sort of thing." Joker explained briefly, wanting to leave that tender topic alone. Hatter noticed her discomfort and realised his mistake.

"Sorry. Curiosity got the best of me." Hatter apologised quickly.

"No, no it's fine." Joker assured and her smile returned, the sad memory was buried deep in the back of her mind somewhere.

As the two continued to talk, Cheshire uncurled his fingers from the back of Joker's jacket and had decided to lift the hat up that had hooked his interest, he studied it as if it were some kind of foreign object he had never seen before.

"How much do I owe you?" Hatter asked as Joker held the paper wrapped book out for him to take, he set it down on to his white desk gently.

"Nothing." Joker replied with a smile.

"Nothing?" Hatter repeated with confused look, nobody in Wonderland gave away something for nothing.

"Nothing," Joker confirmed with a light laugh and nodded her head, she smiled at Hatter with a twinkle in her eye - she had never met someone so odd before, apart from Cheshire of course. "Consider it a gift for a first-time visitor to the Tricky Middle Bookstore."

"Oh, thanks very much then," Hatter said with a smile as he patted the book sitting on the desk, he reached into the middle drawer of his desk and pulled out a blue box of tea, he closed the drawer and held it out to her. "I can't take it completely for free, take this - it's Dusk blue favour."

"Well, thank you." Joker grinned as she gently took the box from his outstretched hand and studied the blue box for a moment before looking back up.

"And your phone number maybe?" Hatter chanced it with an unsure smile, she seemed to like him - but he thought Alice had liked him as well, and she went and married Jack Hearts.

"You're new at this, aren't you?" Joker laughed softly at the look currently on Hatter's face, it gave him the appearance of a lost puppy, a very cute lost puppy. She lifted a pen out of her pocket along with a square of yellow paper, she leaned against the box as she wrote on the paper before sticking it onto the right lapel of his brown jacket with a smile. "Call me anytime."

"Nice." Cheshire said without thinking as he ran his finger down the edge of the hat he'd placed on top of his head, he hadn't been paying attention to the two as all his attention had been trained onto the hat.

"Cheshire Cat," Joker rebuked the pink-haired guy as she lifted the hat off of his head and handed it to Hatter. "You don't take things that aren't yours, don't you listen?"

"Only when I want to." Cheshire purred with a grin, although felt like sulking as she'd taken the hat away from her.

"Sorry. It was nice seeing you again." Joker apologised to Hatter as she Grabbed Cheshire's hand and dragged him out of the Tea Shop, waving goodbye to Hatter with her free hand before closing the door.

"You too!" Hatter called before the gap disappeared, he sighed as he looked down at his hat before dropping it onto the desk beside the paper bag as he collapsed into his white seat behind the table. He peeled the sticky note off of his jacket and stared at the numbers with more interest then he maybe should have, he lifted the phone at the corner of his desk and pushed the buttons before pressing the receiver to his ear.

'_Hey, Tricky Middle Bookstore. How can I help?_' Hatter heard Cheshire answer.

"Hey, I'm call for Joker? I was wondering if-" Hatter had started to say before he was cut off.

'_I'm sorry, we're not in at the moment. Please call back later if you were looking for a book or feel free to leave a message after the beep._' Cheshire spoke before a beep sound was heard.

Hatter took the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a moment before setting it back into it's cradle, an answering machine? He had gotten their answering machine? Of course he had, they had only left a minute or two ago, and their bookstore was almost at the very bottom of Wonderland - it would take them at least ten or so minutes to get down there. He sighed and leaned back into his chair, closing his eyes as he relaxed.

Meanwhile Joker was slipping the key into the lock on the front door of the Tricky Middle Bookstore, the lights were still on as they walled in, leaving the door open behind them - it was still too early to close up shop and they were due a customer or two in a few hours. Joker took off her long coat and hung it on a hook behind the door of the kitchen as she walked through and over to cupboard to put the tea Hatter had given her away, she'd have to try a cup before she went to bed.

"Can I go play with Kipper?" Cheshire asked as he stood in the doorway - Kipper was a guy around Cheshire's age, maybe a year or so older, and he always smelled of salt water and fish..

"I'm not your mum, Ches, you can do what you like." Joker replied as she slid passed him and went behind the front desk, where two stacks of books sat ready to be sorted.

"So, is that a yes?" Cheshire asked again as he stood in front of her.

"Yes," Joker rolled her eyes with a light smile as she began sorting the stacks of books into more even piles on the desk. "Just be back before Dinner, or you can go without again, I'm locking the door early tonight."

"You're the best!" Cheshire jumped with joy before running out of the shop. "Joker said yes, Kipper!"

"Idiot." Joker laughed with an affectionate smile as she thought of Cheshire and how excitable he was. She grinned more shyly as she thought of Hatter though, she hadn't given anyone her number in years, nobody had asked her for it - or nobody as cute as he was anyway.

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><p><strong>Sorry it's so short, but I've had to rush it as school has started and I won't have much time for writing now.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed it anyway though!**

**And don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of my first original chapter by me, the first two were by **Fallon the Coyote Pirate**!**


	4. Breaking Point

**Disclaimer** From now on, this story is 100% officially mine, but I'm grateful for Fallon The Coyote Pirate giving it to me. Now it's all mine, any further ideas, or characters not originally in the show. Sadly I don't own SyFy's Alice, SyFy obviously does. I don't own Wonderland either. Or Hatter, or Ratty, or Alice, or Jack, or the House of Cards Casino - or anything else. Apart from my OC, Joker, and probably the Cheshire Cat in this as well (but not originally.) I also own the Tricky Middle Bookstore.

**Author's Note **Special thanks to dragonrain618, Blue Liquorice and Bookworm and Hrlyqin for reviewing chapter 3.

Yes, Hrlyqin, I was waiting to get lots of flames because when FTCP had this story, it seemed to be popular and I didn't want to be getting lots of hate-mail or anything for taking it over.

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><p><strong>SyFy's Alice, 2009<strong>

**Chapter Four - Breaking Point**

Over the next few weeks, Hatter and Joker's relationship became more solid and they're friendship strengthened. Everyday at two-ish, Joker would make the journey from her bookstore up to the top layer of Wonderland and wander to Hatter's Tea Shop, where the two would sit sipping different blends and colours of tea as they chatted about anything and everything. Neither knew how the other felt, but each day they met up, they fell for each other a little more.

Hatter was slowly getting better, he was finally beginning to get over Alice properly. This was what he was thinking of as he waited for Joker to arrive, he felt something for the rainbow haired bookstore owner that he had never felt with Alice - which was how he came to the conclusion that Alice had been what the Oysters would call a 'High School Crush' and she had only meant something to him because he was being the hero, helping poor helpless Alice find her fiancé and a way home… which she never took in the end anyway. His train of though was derailed suddenly as the door to his Tea Shop opened and closed quickly, revealing Joker wearing her familiar black jacket - although she was dripping wet and sneezed into the sleeve before slipping off the jacket and hanging it up on one of the hooks screwed into the wall near the door, her multicoloured hair was plastered to the top of her head. Taking the jacket off left her in a red tank top with a small white 'J' above her breastbone, and a white button down shirt left unbuttoned. Her loose blue jeans were darker around her ankles from the rain and on her feet were the plain purple Converse All-Stars with the green laces Hatter had come to love, he'd never seen shoes like them or in that colour before but he had decided he didn't to see anyone else in the same coloured shoes.

"Sorry I'm a little late, I was waiting for the rain to lighten before I came up, but it just got heavier a few seconds ago." Joker smiled an apology as she sat down heavily into the white chair on the other side of his desk, it was surprisingly warm and she was grateful for it as it had been a bit chilly on the way up.

"You're not late, you're a few seconds early actually." Hatter smiled back as he jumped up to make their tea, he didn't want his friend to get sick from her damp jacket. He flicked the kettle on and lifted two cups out from the bottom drawer of his desk, he set them beside the kettle before lifting down a light pink and yellow box of tea bags from the cupboard, 'Sunrise Rose' was scrawled on the front in fancy print. He ripped open the top of the box and lifted out to bags before replacing it into the cupboard, he dropped the two pink-tinted teabags into the mugs before turning around and leaning back against the counter with his arms folded across his chest.

"Have you had a busy day?" Joker asked, she'd taken off her button-down shirt to use it as a sort of towel to dry her hair.

"Not really, just a few people having a party were looking for some unusual favours of tea, nothing big or anything," Hatter shrugged his shoulders as the kettle clicked, signalling that the water was boiled and he poured the water into the mugs. "What about you? Anything new to share?"

"I'm a little worried about Cheshire," Joker replied as she removed the shirt from over her head, her multicoloured hair was standing on end - as if she'd been electrocuted. "He's been hanging around with this guy called Kipper a lot lately, and let's just say he isn't the best of influences."

"What do you mean?" Hatter asked, wanting her to elaborate as he took the tea bags out of the mugs and poured the milk into the cups as he stirred.

"Kipper uses Dandy-whiskers," Joker informed Hatter as she sighed and placed her button-down shirt over the armrest of the chair, she took the beige mug from Hatter with a grateful smile and gingerly took a sip of the steaming liquid. Dandy-whiskers, or 'Wilders' as they were sometimes known as, was a type of energy drug - there were several different kinds of Dandy-whiskers, but all were in the shape of a crescent moon. They caused hallucinations, spurts of hyper-ness, and confidence is at a sky high. But it had harmful aftereffects if used long-term, breathing problems and deafness were fairly common. "I don't think Ches would be stupid enough to try it, but Kipper can be very… persuasive."

"Have you talked to Cheshire about it?" Hatter asked as he sat down on the chair behind his desk.

"No, he stays out all day and only turns up before I close up shop for the night, and then just goes straight to his room," Joker frowned before taking another sip of tea and setting it on the corner of Hatter's desk closest to her, she sat back in the chair and put her legs over the armrest so she was facing Hatter. "I just don't know what to do…"

"When did he start staying out more?" Hatter questioned as he set his own tea on the desk.

"After I started coming up to have tea with you, I suppose, but he seemed alright about it…" Joker hid her face in her hands as she realised what was wrong with her life-long friend. "Oh no, he thinks I'm choosing you over him."

"So you need to tell him you're not, or show him even," Hatter suggested as he took a drink of his cooling tea, he watched Joker nod her head and take a sip of her own tea. Of all the things they'd talked about, their names wasn't one of them, he was dying to know why they called her Joker, and she was probably dying to know why they called him Hatter. "So… why Joker?"

"My mother used to work in the House of Cards Casino - I don't know where she is now - and when I was old enough, she watched the Queen banish me… my own mother didn't want me…" Joker dropped her hands onto her stomach and looked sadly towards Hatter. "I was born and raised around suits and cards, when I was exiled I changed my name to the one card nobody seems to want…"

"The Joker card," Hatter realised, he got up from his chair and walked around the desk to sit on the edge beside her tea. "Sorry, I had no idea."

"It's alright, I didn't mind telling you as much as I minded telling Cheshire for the first time," Joker assured him as she lifted her tea and finished it off once she realised it was cool enough to drink properly, she placed it back on the desk and stared up at Hatter. "So why do people call you Hatter then?"

"Because I'm always there when they pass the hat… so to speak." Hatter explained, it wasn't as dramatic or as emotional as her story, but it worked.

"Ah, rightio." Joker bobbed her head, showing she understood.

Hatter and Joker had pretty much talked about everything, about their lives and what they did, anything from the weather to what was going on down in the lower levels of Wonderland. The only thing they never talked about was the royals, the first time Joker had mentioned the changes they were making, Hatter hadn't reacted well - from then on the royals had become an untouched topic neither talked about. When Joker asked around, she found out why - Hatter had helped Queen Alice of Hearts through Wonderland to the House of Cards Casino and overthrow the old Queen of Hearts who was rotting Wonderland into a wasteland of kidnap and assassination. Joker found out that Hatter had also fallen in love with Queen Alice of Hearts, who was just Alice at the time, but that she had chosen the marriage proposal by Jack Hearts and they became King & Queen of Wonderland.

"Would you like more tea?" Hatter offered, and Joker nodded her head with a smile.

"That would be lovely." Joker replied and she watched as he made another brew, as she studied him pouring the water into their mugs again, she remembered that she'd brought him a present. She stood out of the chair and walked over to her coat again, she lifted a brown paper bag that had gone dark from the wetness of the coat, but when she looked inside it she sighed in relief when she saw her present to her friend wasn't harmed. She kept the book as she sat down, and handed it to Hatter as he held another mug of tea out to her.

"What's this?" Hatter asked as he opened the bag and slipped out the book hidden within, 'Paradox Lost' by George Mann.

"It's a present, I thought you might like to read it - it's about this man who travels through all of time and space, and he picks up companions to travel with sometimes along the way," Joker informed him as she too a sip of her tea and groaned happily had the pleasant blend of flavours. "I would read them to Cheshire sometimes when we were younger, not this series, a previous series."

"Thank you, I'll read it and tell you what I think," Hatter smiled as he set the book down neatly onto his desk as he took a gulp of his own tea before setting it beside the book. He studied Joker for a few moments before deciding to ask her something before he lost the nerve to. "I was just wondering what you might be doing next-"

Hatter stopped and the two of them looked around when two people walked through the front entrance to Hatter's Tea Shop, Joker always took the back because it was where she ended up when she arrived from her bookstore. One was a man with blonde hair wearing a white suit with a red tie and black leather shoes, the woman was shorter with long dark brown hair and wearing a white dress with a red jacket, around her neck was a black necklace. It was a good thing hatter had set his mug down, because he would surely have dropped it as the Queen and King of Wonderland walked into his Tea Shop. Jack Hearts, the man in the suit, folded up the umbrella he had been holding over them and set it up against the wall before straightening his tie. Alice Hearts watched her husband for a second before looking over to her old friend with a cheerful smile, she was indeed happy to see him. Hatter on the other hand was far from pleased, but only allowed shock to show on his face. Joker jumped up to her feet and faced the royals, she had briefly known Jack from before she'd been banished, but that was the last time she'd seen him.

"Your majesties." Joker greeted softly and bowed nervously at them, not really knowing what to do. It had been nine years since she'd even seen Jack, or any other royals for that matter - she didn't have good experience with them. She didn't know Queen Alice at all, but she was willing to give her a chance, even after what she did to Hatter.

"You don't need to do that," Alice assured the stranger with a smile in her direction before she made her way over to Hatter. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit, it's been a busy few months trying to tidy up Wonderland. But we're getting there."

"Good afternoon, King of Hearts." Joker greeted him formally, using his royal title. Every time she looked at Jack, she couldn't help but think of his mother, and what she'd done to her.

"Good afternoon, Loki." King Jack replied smoothly, he stood stiffly with his hands folded behind his back.

Joker adverted her eyes away from the king down to her feet as he used her name, the word she hadn't muttered nor been called for over nine years. Her mother had named her Loki Candida Crystalfrost. Jack obviously had no idea she was being called Joker nowadays, but that didn't really matter.

"I thought we should drop in for a visit while we're passing bye, although it has to be a short one for now, we're trying to capture the jabberwocky," Queen Alice spoke to Hatter, and even though he looked as if he were listening, inside he was falling apart. He had just began to get over her with Joker's help, and all that work was coming undone again. "Jack didn't think it was such a good idea, but I thought it would be great to see you again."

Hatter slowly nodded his head, not really paying much attention to the words coming out of her mouth. Joker had retreated away from King Jack back to the seat she had previously been sitting in, stunned at the sound of her own name.

"We need to be going now though, they can't start without us there," King Jack interrupted, reminding his Queen. "It was a pleasure seeing you again, Hatter," - Jack gently grabbed his Queen's hand and lead her out, nodding a goodbye towards Joker before they disappeared, but not before Jack grabbed the umbrella and opened it.

As the King and Queen of Wonderland closed the door behind them, Joker watched Hatter crumble in front of her. He seemed to cave in on himself and Joker jumped over to him quickly as he began to lean forwards, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, she took his hat off and set it on top of the book beside his tea. Hatter wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and buried his face into the side of her neck, he cried softly into her coconut-scented multicoloured hair. He hadn't had a chance to break down, no one there to be able to comfort him in the way he wanted to be comforted. But now he had Joker, and she was stroking the messy brown hair at the back of his head soothingly.

"Sh, sh… it's okay, everything's going to be alright," Joker tried to reassure the broken man weeping into her shoulder, she could feel her heart breaking at the sound of his sobs. She hugged him tighter, and she felt him do the same. "I'm here, it's going to be okay."

The two of them stood there for what felt like hours, but in actual fact it was only a few minutes, as Joker helped Hatter calm down and get it all out. He had finally hit his breaking point, being friends with Alice wasn't going to be possible with him in peaces, and Joker so desperately wanted to help him.

"Are you alright?" Joker whispered softly into Hatter's ear as his tears had stopped flowing, she pulled away and wiped away the tears under his eyes and on his cheeks. To put it bluntly, Hatter looked absolutely miserable. He nodding his head slowly at her question. "Would you like a fresh cup of tea?"

Hatter nodded his head again, but before Joker could move out of his arms, he pulled her towards him with a burst of strength and crushed his lips against hers. She stood rigidly in his arms, unsure how to react before wrapping her arms around his neck again. She kissed him back and he responded eagerly, groaning at the softness of her lips against his. It only lasted for a few seconds before Joker pulled away, but was still enclosed in his arms. She noticed Hatter didn't seem as miserable anymore, but as still far from ecstatic, he did seem happier now though.

"Well, that was… interesting." Joker smiled softly, almost sheepishly, at Hatter as he leaned his forehead gently against hers.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 is finally done! <strong>

**I decided to take a break from homework and work on this, because I realised I'd neglected it.**

**You guys know what to do, Review! I love your reviews!**


	5. What's Mistletoe?

**Disclaimer** Sadly I don't own SyFy's Alice, SyFy obviously does. I don't own Wonderland either. Or Hatter, or Ratty, or Alice, or Jack, or the House of Cards Casino - or anything else. Apart from my OC, Joker, and probably the Cheshire Cat in this as well (but not originally.) I also own the Tricky Middle Bookstore.

**Author's Note **Special Christmas-y thanks to dragonrain618 and, Blue Liquorice and Bookworm for your reviews on chapter 4! I feel all warm and fuzzy knowing that I'm loved.

**Attention **Oh yes, this is a Christmas chapter especially written for Christmas - which I hadn't originally planned on writing. But now I have, so enjoy!

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><p><strong>SyFy's Alice, 2009<strong>

**Chapter Five - What's Mistletoe?**

Hatter didn't know how much more he could take; Alice had appeared out of the blue and ripped out his healing heart, and Jack was happy with the knowledge that he'd gotten the girl in the end.

But, unlike the first time, Hatter now had someone to help him recover - he had Joker. And even though she may think no one wants her, he knew she was wrong, because he certainly wanted her.

Three weeks had past since Alice showed up in Hatter's Tea shop, the season had turned cold and this particular morning it had began to snow. Lightly at first, just enough to turn the ground white, but then it grew into a full blown snow storm. Hatter wondered if the snow was reaching the very bottom of Wonderland, where the bookstore was, and if Joker was still coming up. Otherwise he'd be left on his own, as Ratty would be curled up in a warm ball at the fishing docks in his little shack and wouldn't be venturing out into the weather any time soon.

As Hatter whistled a festive tune he'd heard Joker whistling a few days ago, he stood from his desk and went to make a cup of tea, lifting two mugs out just in case she appeared.

"Merry Christmas!" Joker said loudly in a sing-a-long voice as she burst through the door and slammed it shut behind her, a cold draft flew into the room and circled around Hatter, making him shiver. She was wearing her usual jeans, but plain purple converse with just green laces. "I'll tell you what, it's baltic* out there."

Hatter turned and smiled towards her, and as she'd began to take her coat off he thought about what she'd said, "Merry what-mas?"

"Christmas, you know. The most wonderful time of the year." Joker replied as she stopped taking her coat off midway and stared at him.

"Never heard of it." Hatter frowned at the sad look that had momentarily crossed Joker's face, but it was replaced by a bright smile and an idea twinkling in her eyes.

"So, you don't know about Frosty the snowman? Or Mistletoe? Or Santa Clause?" Joker asked, shrugging her shoulders to put her coat back on.

"What's Mistletoe? Who's Santa Clause?" Hatter questioned, becoming more and more confused the more Joker talked about this _Christmas _thing.

"Oh this is brilliant! Get your coat on." Joker's smile showed her teeth, she felt so gleeful.

"Okay…" Hatter grabbed his coat, which he rarely used, off of the back of the door and put it on. "Where're we going?"

"To the bookstore, I have dozens of books about Christmas," Joker told him as she poked her head out the door to check the weather - thankfully the snow had lightened up immensely, to just lightly falling. The snow already lying on the ground however was at least a foot and a half deep, give or take an inch or two. "Let's go now before it starts snowing heavier again."

Joker took Hatter's hand and lead him out the door, which he closed behind them before she pulled him over towards the platform that would bring them down to the bottom levels of Wonderland. Joker kicked some of the snow that had collected on top of the platform, looking for the button that would take them down. She grinned after she'd found it and pulled Hatter onto the platform with her, she stepped on the button and they began to descend rapidly, they slowed to a stop though before the platform clicked as it locked onto the level.

"What's Christmas again?" Hatter asked as the Tricky Middle bookstore came into view.

"It's a holiday from the human's world, I was over there during this time of the year five or six years ago, and I loved it," Joker explained as she lead the way. "It's a time of celebration, and giving, and partying."

"Sounds fun." Hatter replied as a festive and merry song was playing, its source seemed to be the bookstore.

"Come on." Joker smiled and wrapped her hand around his and dragged him faster towards her store.

"Frosty the snowman, was a happy jolly soul, with a corncob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal," Ches was singing as he stood on top of a ladder and was pinning up some red and green tinsel along the very tops of the book shelves. He couldn't remember the next line, so he hummed along with the CD. "There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found, for when they placed it on his head, he began to prance around-"

Cheshire stopped singing as soon as he spotted Joker and Hatter standing in the door way, he felt his face getting hot as his skin flushed and his ears were bright red with embarrassment.

"Merry Christmas, Hatter." Cheshire greeted with a bit of enthusiasm, it was a start.

"Right, come you over here," Joker closed the front door and lead Hatter to the back of the shop, where she set him on her chair behind her desk. "Get comfortable."

Hatter smiled and took his coat off, and after a second his jacket as well. Joker unzipped her coat and slipped it off fully this time, throwing it onto the back of a chair in the kitchen, along with the grey hoodie she was wearing beneath it - leaving her in her usual inside wear. Her white tank top with a red 'J' just right of the middle, then her blue jeans and purple converse. Joker had the heating in the shop on full blast, giving it a welcoming warmth. Cheshire had lit some candles, all of them doubles of the same two scents, 'Christmas Cookie' and 'Cinnamon Stick' - very festive-y.

"Right… where do I begin…" Joker wondered with a smile as she tapped her lips with her index finger, then snapping it against her thumb. "I know exactly where to start…"

And so for the next hour or so, Joker sat and told Hatter all sorts of different stories. Of Frosty the Snowman, the song Cheshire Cat had been singing. Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer. The Grinch who stole Christmas. And the stories of Santa Clause delivering billions of presents to people all around the world.

"What's Mistletoe?" Hatter asked curiously, Joker had mentioned it earlier, but must have forgotten to explain to him what exactly it was. Was it a drink? Something you were supposed to eat? A plant?

"To explain that particular Christmas tradition, a practical demonstration will have to be done," Joker smiled and giggled a little as she plucked a branch of Mistletoe off of the doorframe leading into the kitchen, she showed it to Hatter. "This is Mistletoe, its everywhere in the human world around Christmas."

"What's it for?" Hatter asked curiously.

"Well… when Mistletoe is held up above two people, it's a Christmas tradition to kiss whoever you're standing with beneath the Mistletoe," Joker smiled as she'd held the Mistletoe above their heads before she'd began to explain the festive plant and its use. "That's Christmas in a nutshell really."

Hatter glanced from Joker to the Mistletoe she was holding, then back to her. He leaned over the desk and planted a kiss on her lips, she groaned at the sudden intimate touch and Hatter smiled in pleasure that he had been the one to get her to make such a noise.

"Christmas time is going to the dogs." Cheshire sang as he stuck one final tack into the wood of the bookcase he was standing at.

"You're not allowed to watch the Grinch anymore," Joker smiled warmly and stared into Hatter's brown eyes as she pulled away from him, a disapproving whine escaping from his mouth. "And that is what Mistletoe is for."

"Mistletoe is good. I like Mistletoe." Hatter decided as he couldn't take his eyes away from the beautiful woman standing in front of him.

"I had a feeling you would," Joker laughed as she straightened up and disappeared into the kitchen, she returned a few moments later holding a rectangular object wrapped in shiny gold and emerald green paper, she held the mystery present out for Hatter to take. Her other hand was hidden behind her back however. "Christmas time is also about giving to others."

"What is it?" Hatter asked curiously as he gently took it and, like many do when giving something exciting and mysterious wrapped up in Christmas paper, lifted it up to his ear and shook it, listening for any noises that could give away what it was. Nothing rattled or rang, and it didn't feel hollow.

"That's the point of the thing, not to know," Joker laughed as she turned around and headed for Cheshire, holding out a present for him as well, this one was in the shape of cylinder. "And this one's for you, Ches."

"Can I open it now?" Cheshire asked as he jumped down off the ladder and looked into Joker's eyes eagerly.

"Oh go on then," Joker giggled and playfully rolled her eyes as she returned to Hatter, he was still holding the wrapped gift. "You can open yours as well, if you want to."

"I, uh… I don't have anything to give you." Hatter blushed as he set the present on the desk.

"You didn't know about Christmas, you couldn't have got me something," Joker assured him with a light laugh, making him blush deeper with embarrassment. "Tell you what, if you really want to, you get something for me and we'll open our presents together tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Oh yes." Hatter smiled as he stood up and moved around to Joker, sliding between her and the desk. He hooked his index fingers through the belt hoops on her jeans and pulled her towards him, leaning down and capturing her lips with his in slow, soft kiss. He noticed she smelled like the 'Christmas Cookie' scented candles, and realised he quite liked the smell.

"You got me tuna! I love tuna!" Cheshire whooped with glee as he ran into the kitchen to open a tin.

"I know, that's why I got you it." Joker shouted after him with a laugh before Hatter attacked her lips.

"Why does everyone have someone to kiss but me?" Cheshire complained as he emerged from the kitchen, he was rather jealous about the relationship between his Joker and Hatter. He wished he had something like those two had.

"Go out and use the mistletoe, it'll work." Joker suggested with a wink as she kissed Hatter again, the mistletoe haven been forgotten by her as it lay on top of the desk.

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><p><strong>This is the last update for a while, because of Christmas, and then after that GCSE's in school<strong>

**Also, at the very start of the chapter I used the word **baltic** - in Northern Ireland, they use this word to describe the temperature, both inside and out. I thought the word would be cool to use.**


	6. Dog Days

**Disclaimer** Sadly I don't own SyFy's Alice, SyFy obviously does. I don't own Wonderland either. Or Hatter, or Ratty, or Alice, or Jack, or the House of Cards Casino - or anything else from the show. Apart from my OC, Joker, and probably the Cheshire Cat in this as well (but not originally.) I also own the Tricky Middle Bookstore, and Kipper.

**Author's Note** Special mentions to dragonrain618 and Blue Liquorice and Bookworm for reviewing the Christmas special I wrote!

**Warning **Contains references to drugs and assult.

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><p><strong>SyFy's Alice, 2009<strong>

**Chapter Six - Dog Days**

Christmas had come and gone, the same can be said about the snow as well as the weather became warmer quite quickly. When it could be officially classified as spring, there wasn't a flake of snow or a patch of ice anywhere.

Spring, a beautiful time of the year where the world has shrugged off its winter coat to make way for sunnier days. When animals wake out of their hibernation, and spring fever is in the air. All across Wonderland were blooming flowers of all shapes and sizes, some simple and delicate; others vibrant with intricate designs along their leaves. Fresh and new and glistening with morning dew.

Hatter no longer felt anything for Alice - Queen Alice - anymore, except perhaps small hints of betrayal every now and again whenever he heard customers or passers by gossiping about the royals. Since the King and Queen last visited his tea shop, his relationship with Joker had changed - for the better, of course. Yes they were still close friends, but now they were more than just close friends.

Their relationship was still in its innocent stage since winter, where they would kiss and cuddle and laugh at some little things the other would do. They shared everything with one another, and Joker would confide in Hatter about her dislike for Kipper still.

It took Joker a good month of letting Hatter know she was there for him before he opened up to her about Queen Alice and why he reacted the way he had after she'd left, that was when Joker formed a new opinion of the Queen of Wonderland.

At this moment, Hatter was relaxing behind his desk in his Tea Shop, sipping at a cup of tea while listening to music from a cassette player - Joker had found it for him, along with a box full of music tapes to play. He was on his own in the shop, Joker wasn't due to come up to the top of Wonderland for another few hours. It was tranquil, with the smell of Mountain Blue tea and the music playing softly in the background.

Cheshire Cat had left the book shop relatively early, or early for him anyway, sporting pink and white Converse with purple laces; dark-wash jeans, and his pink & purple striped jacket with the cat-earred hood. His mission for the day was to hunt down his friend Kipper, wherever he may be.

Kippley Theodore Dogard, or more commonly known as Kipper the Dog, was a rough-looking dull brown haired, mucky eyed 20-something year old with no ambition and a drug problem.

Since Hatter was in his Tea Shop, and Cheshire was out on what always seeemd like a wild goose chase to find his 'friend', that left Joker alone to occupy the bookstore.

Joker enjoyed the rare silence she had amongst the books, when she could sort them into genres and group them by authors. There were both Wonderland books, and human world books. A mixture, although it was far from even. Timble C Darke was a popular Wonderland aouthor at the moment, who wrote about what the human world was like, albiet some places and/or situations were over exaggerated by him.

Whisling the tune to 'Somebody That I Used To Know', a Human world song by a band called 'Gotye', Joker walked out from behind her desk and strolled smoothly over to a stack of new books - which was a rather rare thing in itself as most of the books she could afford were second-hand, or worse.

Joker didn't know all the words to the song, so whistled the tune and bits she didn't know, while throwing the correct lyrics in every now and again, "You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness..." whistled the next part as she'd only heard the song a few times. "No, you didn't have to stoop so low! Have your friends collect your records and then change your number!" - All the while slipping the books balanced on her arm into their correct places

However, her whistling was killed by the sound of someone clapping their hands. Every muscle in her body stiffened, but only for a moment or two, before she spun on her heel to face the intruder. She was surprised, she had never met the stranger standing in her doorway, but she would be able to recognise him anywhere.

It was Kipper.

"What do you want?" Joker questioned, not even trying to be friendly. She didn't like him, so she wasn't going to pretend she did. "Cheshire's out looking for you."

"Well I ain't lookin' for him," Kipper cleared up, pushing himself off of the doorframe and making his way towards the smaller woman. Joker was two inches off 6foot, standing at 5' 11", but she was small compared to his almost 7ft build. He approached her much like a snake slithering towards a rabbit, with a deadly purpose. "I came for you."

"What a shame, I've no interest in anything you've got to say." Joker scoffed, turning and slotting one last book on to the shelf she'd been sorting through before walking back to the front counter with the rest of the books she'd been sorting.

"Well, ya see, that's a bit tough," Kipper growled out as he followed her, purposely knocking over a pile of books on his way past; which fell into another, and that one into another. By the time he reached the front desk, a good thirty to forty odd books were left strewn all over the blue carpeted floor. "Cos you are going to listen, and listen good."

"Why would I?" Joker snorted at the pathetic Wonderlander, Kipper gave those who lived in the underbelly of the world a bad name.

"Because," Kipper grinned viciously, he grabbed a rather thick book that had been sitting near his feet and flung it as hard as he could at the shelves to the left of the door; it collided with a thwack and landed on the ground. He turned round, the smirk still on his face, and looked her in the eyes. "Things like this will happen."

"Oh, is that it-" Joker had started to bite back, but was at a loss for words when the entire bookcase collapsed in on itself and spilled its content onto the floor, along with the broken pieces of wood. "You bas-"

"Ah, ah, ah. None of that, or else," Kipper snarled, doing a complete 180 mood swing, he slammed his balled up fist onto the desk. "I want you to _stop _talking to Cheshire about not being my friend. Stop sticking your nose where it don't belong."

"Cheshire is my best friend, it's my right to suggest who I think are good friends – you don't fall into that category." Joker spat back, this was her shop he was intruding in, she wasn't going to just roll-over and take it.

"You little bitch!" Kipper roared at her as he jumped over the desk at her, but she managed to dodge the ginormous brute coming at her and escape through the side, he followed quickly however.

Joker knew every nook and cranny to the shop, knew where all the books lay in the shop – it may have appeared like chaos if you're visiting the bookstore for the first time, but it was an organised mess.

Kipper was like a bull in a china shop, charging after the multi-coloured haired woman in a rage. He tripped into shelves (which were swiftly broken), ripped books in half, and even threw some at Joker. She was unfortunate enough to look behind her after he'd thrown a book, which quickly earned her a nosebleed.

Joker may have been faster, but Kipper was bigger.

Kipper dived towards the smaller woman and tackled her to the floor, crushing her beneath him before he curled his fingers around the collar of her black & white button down shirt and pulled her up towards his face and, like the scumbag he was, punched her.

Joker howled in pain as his knuckles connected with her cheek bone, it would be severely bruised later, but she counted herself lucky that he hadn't broken it.

"I am going to stay friends with Cheshire, and there's nothing you can do about it." Kipper growled into her face, her top lip covered in dried blood.

"He won't want to be friends with you when he sees what you've done to me." Joker choked back, and spat in his eye dead-on.

"He won't know I did it," Kipper snarled, back-handing her across the cheek he'd punched. "You won't tell him."

"The hell I won't!" Joker shouted, wriggling to try and get out from beneath him.

"The hell you will." Kipper shouted back.

*D*I*S*C*A*R*D*E*D*C*A*R*D

Hatter had a feeling something was wrong when Joker didn't arrive at her usual time, but thought nothing of it as she was sometimes a few minutes late. He felt a sick dread in the pit of his stomach after an hour however, he hadn't heard from her at all.

So, grabbing his jacket and dropping his hat onto his head, he locked the door to the Tea Shop behind him and made his way over to the platform that would bring him down to the bottom of Wonderland. The ride down was short as normal, with everything flying past him in a crazy blur of greys.

Hatter tried to calm himself down by breathing deeply and thinking about the holiday he'd been introduced to, and all of its brilliant little perks. He smiled at the memory, and he realised he was probably worrying about nothing. The watch she wore around her left wrist had probably just ran out of batteries, or maybe she'd just let time get away from her while she sorted out her beloved books. It hadn't happened before, but there was always a first time for everything…

The door to the Tricky Middle Bookstore was half open, hanging by its hinges. A cold sickening fear wrapped around his heart this time as he spotted the bloody half of a handprint stamped onto the door, he fearfully stepped over the threshold of the shop and gasped.

Everything was ruined. Well, that was a little dramatic. _Almost _everything was ruined.

Books lay everywhere, over every possible surface on the floor, and then on top of each other. There were half books strewn about the place, hundreds of thousands of loose page. The bookcases were destroyed, splinters were everywhere

Hatter was terrified and furious at the same time; terrified that the person who did this might still be here, furious because the bookstore was Joker's life, her pride and joy. You couldn't even imagine how he felt when he seen the rest of the blood.

It was so red compared to everything else, splattered on the carpet, the wall, over the covers of some books. The worst part of it? There was a trail; it was thin, but led from the middle of the bookstore all the way back to the desk.

Hatter carefully traced the blood-made path, stepping as quietly as he could on or over the books lying about the place. When he reached the front desk, he gently placed his hands on the surface and peered over to the other side, his heart broke in half as he spotted Joker – she didn't look anywhere near as well as she'd been yesterday.

Joker was huddled into the corner, her arms covering the top of her head as her face was buried in her legs that were pulled up close to her chest. The sleeves of her button down shirt were ripped at the cuffs, leaving her forearms bare and exposed the tell-tale signs of bruising to come. Her shirt was ripped in various places, same as her jeans. Her hair was messy (messier than usual) and had splashes of red in it, blood. More blood.

Hatter let out a strangled whimper before rushing to her and collapsing onto the floor, engulfing her in his arms as he tried to soothe her.

"It's okay, it's Hatter. It's me." He tried to calm her, even though he was the one that needed calming.

"I know what your name is," Joker replied as she raised her head up and wiped her nose onto her ruined sleeve. The beginnings of a black eye were starting to form, a slim red slice ran from her eye across her cheek to her nose. "I'm tired, I don't have amnesia."

"Who did this to you?" Hatter whimpered as he pulled back and ran his thumb gently along the edge of her bruised eye. "To your store."

"Kipper," Joker sighed and buried her face into his shirt, curling her fingers into the inside of his jacket. "He did it all…"

"We have to do something about this; he can't get away with it!" Hatter exclaimed, looking down at Joker, only to see that she'd fallen asleep against him. She must have stayed awake in case he came back to finish the job, he was a relief. Hatter kissed her forehead and rested his cheek against the top of her head, he wrapped his arms around her again and settled down against the wall with her. He wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.

* * *

><p><strong>A late update, but better late than never. <strong>

**At first I thought I was going to name Kipper after the fish, but then I changed my mind during this chapter for some reason.**

**Whenever I was younger, I used to watch a cartoon called 'Kipper the Dog', which obviously about a dog called Kipper.**

**Don't forget to review!**


	7. Lesser of Two Evils

**Disclaimer **I don't own Alice, Jack Hearts, Wonderland, Hatter or anything else originally from the show/books - the rights belong to Lewis Carroll/SyFy. I do however own my OC, Joker, Cheshire Cat (in this story anyway...) and Kipper.

**Author's Note** Just noticed I've been writing this fanfic for over a year! Whoop, whoop! And now;

ilovemedia18 - Really glad you love the story, I'm still not quite sure where I'm taking this. I might end it with a Christmas chapter. Then again, I might not. That didn't really help... Sorry. Anyway, yes, glad you like what I'm doing.

glowgreen4me - I am definitely making another chapter - possibly another few maybe.

ehluvr3 - Awe, you're too kind, really. And I'm trying to update, but I never have time. Darn!

Hannah - Update now :)

momopanda95 - Yeah, I was puzzled when I watched the show and noticed when Cheshire Cat wasn't in it at all. Totally confused. I'm really happy you love my style of writing and the story plot, and also about Joker and her background as well. I love that you love the story, and I'm trying to write as much as I can. Christmas is coming up and I'm stuck between College and work, if I'm not at one I'm at the other. But anyway, that's for reviewing and here's what you're looking for :)

**A/N PS. **It's very late, I know. I was actually going to write another Christmas special. But it never happened.

* * *

><p><strong>SyFy's Alice, 2009<strong>

**Chapter Seven - Lesser of Two Evils**

The first week had been very quiet and very tiresome since the incident, the book store was still ruined, but Joker was recovering steadily. The damage done to her had been worse than it had originally looked, as she'd suspected.

A black-eye, cuts, bruises, a sprained wrist and minor internal bleeding was what Joker had sustained from the attack – she constantly had to assure Hatter that Kipper was in worse condition than herself. He just couldn't bring himself to believe her though...

The doctor they met at Wonderland Central Hospital, a charming old fellow by the name of Alfrex Zymzil with fluffy ivory hair and mossy green eyes, had promised Joker would be up and about within the week.

Doctor Zymzil prescribed Joker three different medications; a painkiller, a sleeping-aid, and something to help heal the minor internal bleeding quicker.

After the first week, Joker was slowly up and about, Hatter not leaving her side for more than a few minutes at a time. He cared a lot for her, more than he wanted to admit to himself. Everyone Hatter had cared for so far in his life had left him; his mother, father, siblings, friends... Alice... He didn't want to lose another person he cared for.

It was Thursday, the middle of the second week of her recovery, and Joker found herself sitting upon the front desk of her destroyed store. Her dream, her life, her safe haven (for the past eleven years) was no more. Everything would need to be fixed and replaced, not just the books.

Financially, Joker had more than enough money to get the book store looking brand new. But that was the thing, she didn't want a new book store, one that smelled of fresh ink and flawless mahogany bookshelves. She wanted her old book store back to the way it was, the air thick with the smell of musty old books and its cosy, inviting atmosphere.

It would take a lot of time, and care, and kindness to get the place back to the way it was – Joker was ready and willing.

Cheshire Cat hadn't appeared back in the store since the attack, either too ashamed or too frightened to return. Ashamed because he'd let his best friend get hurt, frightened at what Hatter might do to him the next time they met.

If she were perfectly honest, Joker felt almost betrayed by her dear friend, she had warned him not to go looking for Kipper and yet he had anyway.

Joker's internal bleeding had healed quickly but not fully, the bruising had faded to a dark yellow colour, all her little cuts had healed. Her wrist, however, was still in a wrist support.

Hatter was there in the book store with her, helping her sort through the books. Some bloodied, most ruined, while a (very small) few seemed salvageable. The books had been well worn before the incident, and unfortunately Hatter couldn't tell the difference.

"Keep or bin?" Hatter asked Joker after holding up a burgundy hardback book, in gold letters across the front it read 'Alex's Adventures in the Oyster World' written beneath it in the same font and colour was the name of the author, a Wonderland author, 'Louis Barroll'. The book was twice as thin as it should have been, the spine nearly faded white and cracked.

Joker stared at it for a moment before sighing with a frown, "Bin it." - she'd liked that story.

Hatter threw the book into a yellow plastic box behind him before picking up another and asking the same question, "Keep or bin?"

Now, this book was rather large, about the size of an A4 piece of paper and as thick as a brick. The book was also a hardback, but the colour of it was a deep forest green. 'The Complete Adventures of Winnie-The-Pooh' was imprinted on the cover in gold letters as well, the outline of a teddy bear and teddy piglet holding hands beneath it (also in gold). The spine of the book was hanging off it, but the pages looked all there.

"Actually," Joker slid off the counter and gently took the heavy book from him, hugging it to her chest by her uninjured arm. "This one's mine."

"Keeping it, then." Hatter commented as he picked up a book splattered with blood and torn down the middle, throwing it into the box without asking. They had been at if for hours now and they'd only made a small dent in the damage, there was still much to do.

"I like it." Joker replied, stifling a yawn as she turned to slide the book onto the front desk. Even with the sleeping pills she'd been given by Doctor Zymzil, she was still having restless night sleeps. No nightmares, or night terrors, just difficulty getting over.

"Maybe you should go have a lie down," Hatter suggested as he brushed dust from his knees as he stood straight, his back popping as he did so. "You look a bit tired."

"I'm fine, really." Joker tried through another yawn, not sure if she was trying to convince more, Hatter or herself.

"A nap would be good for you," Hatter smiled encouragingly, pushing her gently with his hand on her lower back through the kitchen and up the first few stairs. "I'll be down here waiting for you with a cup of tea."

Objecting was too tiring, so after giving him a loving peck on the cheek, Joker climbed the rest of the way up and inter her room – collapsing as softly as she could onto her familiar old mattress. Her organs were still a bit tender, so she needed to be careful.

Hatter waited until her heard Joker's bedroom door close before grabbing his coat and keys and heading out the newly placed and painted blue door, turning the three individual locks until they clicked into place.

That sly dog Kipper still hadn't been caught and Hatter was quickly running out of ideas, he had been left with two options – neither of which he wanted to use but might need to if he wanted Kipper.

The first option was simple, go and ask King Jack and Queen Alice for help. But could he ask the woman who broke his heart for help?

The second option was equally as unpleasant, and involved travelling deep into the underbelly of Wonderland. A shady group known as 'The Ravens' were rather good at finding people who didn't want to be found, which was exactly who Kipper was. It wasn't his first choice as he didn't know what they'd want in exchange for their... Services.

There was only one sensible choice of action, he would have to ask the King and Queen of Wonderland for help. If that didn't work, he would consult The Ravens.

It being Thursday, the Royals would be allowing the occupants of Wonderland into the Palace to suggest certain ways to improve Wonderland. Capture the Jabberwocky had been one of them. To build new houses was one suggested by Ratty, it was currently under way.

Hatter was at the palace within the hour and quickly joined the long line leading to the thrones of the King and Queen, who were dressed in their finest red and white clothes – as usual. It didn't take long for more people to line up behind him; some holding inventions, others with folders to present their ideas with, but everyone dressed in their best clothes for the Royals.

In front of Hatter stood a young boy, no older than seventeen or so, dressed in a worn brown suit a size or two to big for him. He was muttering to himself, obviously rehearsing what he planned on saying to the Royals as he clutched a folder to his chest.

Standing at the entrance to the Palace were two tall, smiling men dressed in identical white suits with identical red ties and identical pairs of dark red dress shoes. The one on the left however had a red '3' on each of the lapels on his suit jacket above a heart, whereas the one on the right had a red '2' on each of the lapels above a red heart also. Their only job was to make sure that no trouble kicked off, and to be friendly to the visitors to the castle – public image and all that.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girl," The Two of Hearts greeted with an overly cheerful grin. "Welcome to the Royal Palace."

"We're very grateful for your patience." The Three of Hearts continued, clasping his hands together.

The natives to Wonderland quietly shuffled on past the two suits, who towered over them in an accidentally intimidating way – causing the Wonderlanders to subconsciously cower as they passed.

An hour later and Hatter was not only at the front of the line now, the nervous teenager that had been in front of him having just stepped into the throne room, but he was also getting more and more restless. It was taking him longer than he'd though to speak to the King and Queen, the last thing he wanted was for Joker to wake up and find that he's vanished.

Barely five minutes later the doors in front of Hatter opened, a sign that the teenager was gone and it was his turn.

Another guy, dressed exactly like the two at the entrance to the palace except for the red 'A' on the lapels of his suit, approached Hatter and asked him his name.

"Hatter. Just Hatter." Was his reply.

"Whatever you say, mate," The Ace of Hearts shrugged his shoulders before leading the way into the throne room. "Your Majesties, may I introduce to you next, Hatter."

At his name, Hatter straightened his jacket and cleared his throat before stepping forward into the throne room, tipping his hat off his head as he approached the King and Queen.

"King Jack. Queen Alice," Hatter acknowledged them with a not of his head, the rim of his hat clenched in his right hand. "There is a criminal on the loose."

The doors to the throne room closed with a thundering bang.

***D*I*S*C*A*R*D*E*D*C*A*R*D***

As soon as Joker heard the front door to the shop close, she slid out of bed and pulled on a baggy black hooded jacket over the blue short sleeved shirt she'd been wearing, so as not to hurt her arm. If she had to guess, it being a Thursday, Hatter had left to talk to the Royals of Wonderland. She respected them, yes, but she didn't think they would be able to pull off what Hatter wanted from them.

Carefully Joker climbed down the stairs, grabbing her keys from the kitchen so as to unlock the front door. After relocking the front door, a gust of wind rushed past Joker – chilling her to the bone, so much so that she was forced to zip the front of her jacket all the way up.

The platform lift Joker normally took to the top layer of Wonderland only went as far as the level the book store was on, if she wanted to go where she was thinking of going then she was going to half to walk. Or find a raven.

Two layers down and it was even quieter than the barren levels above, but it was the first level Joker had come to where there was a raven's nest placed on a windowsill. There were two ravens, but she'd only need one. So, pressing her back to the wall, she slowly and soundlessly slid her way to the windowsill and waited for her chance – which came seconds later when the smaller raven looked the opposite way of where she was standing. Taking the chance, Joker leapt towards the feathered creatures and swiped the smaller one, holding it between her chest and her uninjured hand.

The raven squawked and struggled furiously, trying to get free.

"Stop struggling, I just want you to deliver a message for me," Joker hissed, to which the bird immediately stilled. She gingerly slid her injured hand into the back pocket of her jeans, wincing as a small jolt of pain shot through her wrist, and pulled out a piece of faded yellow paper before holding it out. "Give this to Allepo."

The raven stared up at Joker with unusual dark grey eyes, just for a moment, before snatching the piece of paper in it's right claw. She let the bird go and it flew out into the gap in front of them, then folded its wings in and dive-bombed down into the very bowels of Wonderland.

The folded piece of paper that Joker had given the raven had a short note she'd scrawled, enclosed with a Joker card; 'You own me a favour'.

Minutes later and the silence was disturbed by a soft springing sound echoing against the walls, that only seemed to get louder, and louder, and louder.

Joker barely so much as flinched when a figure at least three feet taller than herself landed beside her, completely dressed in black. The figure, which was a man, had a mop of dark ginger on his head.

"Roo," Joker smiled up at the man, who quickly crouched down to her level with his own smile. "It's good to see you again."

In actuality, Roo was only slightly taller than Joker was. The difference in their height at the moment was that Roo was wearing black, spring-like appendages on his shoes, they were identical to what the oysters had in their world called 'Pogo stilts'.

"Awe, it's great to see you to, Lit," Roo wrapped his arms around her and stood straight, he'd been smiling until he'd heard her wince painfully through clenched teeth. He quickly set her down, afraid he'd hurt her, only to notice the white bandage wrapped around her left hand poking out from beneath her jacket. "What happened?"

"It's the reason why I need to speak to Allepo," Joker carefully hugged her injured wrist to her abdomen. "I was attacked. The book stores ruined."

It was at that point that Roo lost the playful spark in his green eyes and finally noticed the condition she was in, "Why didn't you say so?"

"I thought Allepo told you." Joker shrugged her shoulders tiredly.

"No." Roo responded, he crouched down again and scooped Joker up, this time hugging her back tightly to his chest.

Roo was called Roo because, not only was his real name Rodney, he hopped wearing the Pogo stilts in a very similar fashion to a kangaroo. He was also _very_ fast and _very _endurable.

It took the two longer getting down to their destination than it had taken Roo to reach Joker, mainly due to the fact that he didn't want to hurt her. Within minutes though the pair had reached the bottom of the gorge, but instead of stopping Roo hopped on at a slower pace. They had to go down a few alley ways and bounce over a few craters in the pavement before they'd reached the building hidden right in the heart of a part of Wonderland referred to as Underland, a building that looked no different to the others around it – apart from the artistically sketched drawing of a raving in flight on the door they were heading towards.

Joker pulled open the door and strolled into the house, which was much bigger on the inside than it appeared, with as much confidence as a battered looking woman could. There were ravens pattering about the place, cawing and squawking at each other every now and again.

Roo lead her around a corner and through another door, much stronger looking than the front door. They walked into a room full of black mismatched furniture of all shapes and sizes, but sitting in a very throne-like chair standing at the top of a small flight of steps, sat a black haired, dark eyed man wearing a cloak made from black feathers. This was Allepo Veran, the head of The Raven.

"Lit," Allepo stood from his throne and made his way towards her, Roo backing away from Joker a few steps. "What's his name?"

The members of The Raven knew Joker more commonly as Lit, short for Literature, as most of them were locals to the book store.

"Kippley Dogard," Joker gladly handed over the name. "He's more commonly known as Kipper the Dog."

"Oh, that guy," Allepo smirked at the mere thought of him. "We've been keeping an eye on him for a while now."

"He destroyed the book store, Al. And look at the state of me," Joker gestured with her good hand at herself, tugging her left sleeve up her arm to show him the bandage. "I'm afraid he'll get me again."

All the members in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to the pair, both shocked and angry that their favourite bookshop had been destroyed, and that their favourite shop keeper had been attacked. Most of the members had never heard Joker confess she was afraid before, she'd been slightly scared once when she'd dislocated her shoulder, but that was pretty much it.

In their teenage years, Joker and Cheshire had frequently helped out The Ravens in whichever way they could. Running information between groups, hiding members that were being hunted, etc...

"Trust me, Lit. You won't have to worry your pretty little multicoloured head about him ever again," Allepo promised, dropping an arm over her shoulders as he turned to look at his gang. "Get ready, we're going on a mutt hunt."

***D*I*S*C*A*R*D*E*D*C*A*R*D***

Hatter quietly let himself back into the book store, just as he was closing the door again, a purple converse shoe halted the door from closing over completely.

Cheshire, the pink and purple haired idiot, pushed his way into the store.

"Where is she?" He demanded, quite loudly. He didn't get an answer quick enough. "I said _where is she?!_"

"Will you shut up!" Hatter hissed as quietly as he could. "She's upstairs sleeping."

Cheshire jolted towards the stairs, and without even thinking, Hatter lashed out and punched him rather violently on the side of his head. Cheshire collapsed before he'd even reached the door. Hatter couldn't explain it, but it had just been a gut instinct that he couldn't ignore.

Not leaving him lying in the middle of the floor, Hatter dragged him to the side and propped him up against the wall – where one of the bookshelves just to be. Cheshire groaned a bit, but otherwise stayed still.

"She's not going to be happy." Hatter worried as he climbed the stairs as quietly as he could, he knocked on Joker's bedroom door softly before opening it. She was lying on her right side with her back to the door, a black jacket of hers lay across the end of the bed. As he was about to close the door over, she slowly woke up and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Everything alright?" She asked through a yawn.

"Yeah, no problem, everything's fine," he replied with a nervous smile. "I just thought I'd check on you. Go back to sleep."

"Stay with me?" she asked as he almost closed the door. "Please?"

Hatter thought about it for a moment before moving into her room, closing the door behind him as he discarded his hat and jacket over the end of the bed. As he kicked his shoes off she moved over to make room for him to lie down beside her, as he got comfortable he wrapped a protective arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Night." He mumbled into her ear, smiling slightly, happy he'd gotten away with going to see the Royals.

"Night." She replied, an identical smile on her face, happy she'd gotten away with going to see The Raven.

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven is finished!<strong>

**One of my new years resolutions was to get more followers on Twitter, so if you'd like to help me out, just look for AlfieTimewolf lol**

**Until the next chapter! Which will be soon hopefully!**


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